Improvement in magazine fire-arms



J. NIGH 0 L S. MAGAZINE HRBARM.

No. 36,358. Patented sept. 2, 1862.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

JAMEsmcHoLa-or LIMEsToNE, NEW'VIYORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MAGAZINE FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 36,358, dated September 2, 1862..

To all whom' it may concern:

Be it knownthat AI, JAMES Nrcuorsfof Limestone, in the county of Cattaraugus and 'State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Repeating Fire-Arms;

and I do hereby declare' that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,forming part of this specification, in whichf verse section of the same in the line x of Figs.

1 and 2. Fig. 6'is aview, seen in the opposite .direction to Figs. 1 and 2, of the mechanism .by which jthe rotation of' thecha'mbered cyl- `inder is effected. `tudinal section of the bullet-magazineand Fig-7 is a central long ifeeder. Fig. 8 is an end view of the measure by which the charges of powder are measured and transferred from the magazine to the barrel. Fig. 9 representsthe rear portion of the cylinder projected on a plane to illustrate the form of the groove h h it' which extends all round it.

Similar letters of reference indicateA correspondin g parts in the several figures.

This invention mainly consists in certain means applied to aA nre-arm, in combination with a rotating many-ehambered cylinder, for the purpose of permitting and effecting the loading of the chambers with loose powder and bullets or shot from magazines attached to the barrel or fore-stock of the arm in front of the cylinder.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A Bis'a frame, which is attached rigidly to and forms a portion lof the stock of the gun, and whosefront part, B, constitutes the recoilshield to the rotating cylinder C.

D is the barrel, having firmly secured to it a plate, E, of a form to cover the front of the cylinder, and this plate E has rmly attached to or made in the same piece with it a strap, F, which extends back over the top of the cylinder through a groove in the top of the recoil-shield B, and is fitted to slide in a slot, a, in the upper part of -the frame A B, behind the recoil-shield. I

G is a cam-yoke, arranged within the frame A B in the rear of the recoil-shield, and having formed in the same piece with or rigidly attached 4to it a strap, H, which is tted to slide in a slot, b, in the lower part of the said Aframe and through a groove in the bot-tom of the recoil-shield. The said strap-piece is secured at its vfront end by a screw,c to the bottom of the plate E, and at the top of the yoke there is formed a tenon, d,whicl1 isiitted ti ghtlyintoa mortise in the strap F, and by these means the plate E, strap F, yoke G, and strap H are made to form a rigid frame,which is rigidly attached to the barrel, and which surrounds both the cylinder and the recoil-shield, and which is capable of a longitudinal movement independently o' the stock, recoil-shield, and cylinder, for the purpose 'of openingand closing a valve-like joint which is formed between the barrel and the Vchambers of the rotating cylinder-by forming a projecting cone or lip, e, Fig. `2around the rear of the barrel and countersinking the muzzles of thechambers j f for the reception 'of such cone or lip, the said movement being effected by means of a cam, I, working' in and acting upon the yoke G. This cam is fast upon a shaft, I', which is arranged transversely to the length of the gun, and which worksin a bearing in the lock-plate J and another bearing in a plate, K, secured to the opposite side of the frame A B. The same shaft has also secured to it a cam, L, by which the rotary movement of the cyliiider is produced,- and it is furnished outside ot1 the plate K with a lever, M, by which to give it thenecessarymovement to produce the operation of the two cams, which will be presently more fully described.

The cylinder O may have any number of chambers ff, but-is represented as having four, that number being sufficient, and in many respects preferable'to a greater number. It is fitted to rotate freely on the basepin la, (which is screwed permanently into the plate E from the rear thereof, and which extendsback through the recoilshield,) and it has formed upon its rear a journal, l, which passes. through the recoilshield, and which has fastened to it behind the recoil-shield a ratchetwheel, m, having a number of teeth corre\ spending vwith the numbei` of chambers 'in the cylinder, such ratchet-wheely having applied to work in it a pawl, a, which is attached to an elbow-lever, N,fworking on a fixed pivot, a', secured inside of theplnte J. 'Upon this lever N. the cam L operates to produce the necessary action of thev pawl upon the ratchetwheel, acting on the upper arm of the said l lever to raise theY pawl andlturn the ratchet` Wheel and cylinder, 'andr upon the lower arin, to which the 'pawl is attacheihto draw back thepawi. yThe Vpawl is kept toits worh by means of a spring, p, attached to the plate K.

The cams L and l require about half a revolution of the shaft I'Qtc effect their operations. The opera-tion of ymoving forward the frame- E F-G H and the barrel relatively to the stock, recoil-shield, and cylinder, to prepare for the revolution of the cylinder, and the operation of revolving the cylinder to the extent required after every fire, are effected by moving the 'lever Mr in the' direction of the arrow shown near it in Fig@ 1, which represents it in its most forward positidn, where it hasbeen stopped by the stop-pin j, that is screwedv into the side of the recoil-shield.

The operation of drawing bach the .pawl and.

drawing back the frame E l?y Gr H and barrel is performedl by the movement of the said lever in the opposite direction. The cams must be so arranged relatively to'each other that I must complete the forward-'movement of the barrel before L commences to effect the revolving movement ofthe cylinder.

A portion of the cylinder in front of the journal Z is made somewhat smaller than the front the portions h h being all of equal length and Y corresponding in number with the number of chambers in the cylinder, and the portions i i being all of equal length, but the Obliquity of the portions h h being such as to make thel portions i' c' very short. rlhe said groove reccives the end'of the fixed stop-pin j, which is made to'pioject into the cavityot' the recoil-shield, and thus by its action in the said groove constitutes a stop to the cylinder, that i.l may not 'revolve farther than is desired. The oblique portions It h of the groove running on the pinjpei-mit the i'evolution ofthe cylinder, and the straight portions c' i cause the stoppage of the revolution after the successive operations of the pawl n until the cylinder has inoved forward far enough relatively to the recoil-shield to permit the said pin to pass out of them and into the oblique poi-tions It h.

.2 einen .After the revolution of the cylinder to the extent required thev cylinder remains back againstthe .recoil-shield, while the barrel isi drawn bach to it by moving forward the lever to the position shown in Fig. 1; but when the barrel is moved 'forward again preparatory to' the next revolving movementl'iy'.the drawing bach-of the lever M in the direction of thc arrow Shown near it irl-Fig. l, the cylinder,

owing to the friction of the valve-joint @and Y* of similar joints between itand Ythe connections ofthe powder Yand bullet or shot magazines,

which will be presentlydescribethis causedY to move forward with the barrel until the back of the groove comes in Contact with the Y pin j, after which the cylinder, having moved backI farenough to disengagc itself from vvthey said pin and permit its revolution,remains attached to the recoil-shield, while -tlie'biarrel f `f continues its forward movement to break the joint ee and thesimilai' joints forniedbetween the cylinder and the passages th at are pro'- f vided in the plate E for the loading of the chambers f f from the magazines.

The powder-magazine consists ot' a tube, I), secured to the bottom of the barrel by screws g q. This tube extends back to within a short distance from the plate E, and the space between its rear end and the said plate is occupied by the powder meas ireor charger Q, which consists of a hollow cylinder of lsufcienteapacity to contain ak proper charge of powder. This charger is arranged with its axis parallel with those ot the cylinder and of the bores of the chambers, and its ends are received one in a seat. r, provided for it in the rear end of the tube l, and the other in a seat, s, formed around the front of an opening, u, provided in the plate E, in which seats it is capable of being turned easily bya handle, Q,

attached to it for the purpose. The position of the said charger is such that one of the chainbersj' of the cylinder is always directly opposite to and in line with it, while another is in line with and opposite to the bore of the barrel. In that end 'of the said charger next the magazine there is provided an aperture, t, of the form of a portion of a circleconcen tric with the axis of the charger, and in the other end there is a similar aperture, o,- the said apertures being arranged on opposite sides of the said axis. In the seats r and s there are -precisely similar apertures but the apertures inthe seats are directly opposite each otherthat is to say, are on the same side of the axis oi' the charger. By this arrangement of the apertures those t t next the magazine are opposite each other andopen, while those o o next the cylinder are out of range with each other and closed, as shown in Fig. 2, and Vice versa. The charger may be always -in the position shown in Fig. 2, except during thc operation of loading, which is effected by hohling the gun with the muzzle upward to fill the bullets. pivotflh to a socket, T', which is fitted to pin 15 to the barrel.

levelI down, as shown in red outline in Fig. 7,v

zine and open 'those-o o communicating with the cylinder, the charge is transferred from the charger through the passage n into the opposite chamber of the cylinder. The backpurt character' tothat formed vlnetwcen the barrel and the chambers.

The bullet-magazine consists ot' a straight tube, 1t, of cylindrical form, .j ust large enough for the bullets to move easily forward, one behind another'. vThe bullets may have patches applied before insertion into the rear end ofV the magazine. The said tube R is attached to the barrel parallel therewith, and its front end enters a hole in the pla-te E. The position of the said tube R is such that, when one chamber of the cylinder is opposite to and in line with the barrel and another opposite to 4and in' line with the charger. QV ofthe powder-magazine, an intermediate chamber will be opposite to the said tube It. The hole in -the plate E into which the said tube R enters has screwed into it from the rear a short tube or thimble, w, Fig. 7," the bore of which is ofthe same size as that ofthe barrel, and not large enough for the bullets to pass through without-the application of considerable force, and when the gun has a rfled barrel 'the chambers are rifled to match the barrel and the tnbeor thimble 1c rifled to match the chambers. The said tube or thimble is also made to project through the back ofthe plate lfl, as shown at 20, in Fig. 7, to fit into the countcrsunk lnuzzles 'of'the chambers, to-iorm ajoint between 'the chambers and the bullet-magazine like those formed between themand the barrel and' powdermagazine. The bullets are fed forward in the magazine AIt by means-of a plunger or piston, S, from which a rod, S1, passes out through the front end of the tube, said'rod having ratchet-teeth y z on two sides, the teeth y on the side next the barrel being to receive va spring stop-pawl, 17, for thc prevention of the ruiming back of the piston, and the teeth z be ing for the reception of a dog, T, which is employed to move the piston forward to feed ,the The said dog T is attached by a slide on the outside of the rod S', and it works through 'a slot in the said socket. -Itis also connected by a pin, 13, link 14, and pin 16 with a lever, U, that is attached by its fulcrum- By drawing the said the dog T is causedto engage in lthe ratchet z and. to push the plunger back in the magazine t, and thereby to push back all the bullets therein, and so to deposit the one farthest from the plunger into the chamberj, which is opposite to the said magazine, and by pressing hard enough upon the said lever the bullet is zle upward.

rammed upon the charge of lpowder with the required degree of force. When the lever is raised again to the position `shown in black outline in FigQ?, 'the dog T disengages itself from the ratchet c and the slide T' moves for-- ward on the rod S', which is prevented from coming back by the paw] L7. When it is dcsired to reiill the magazine 'It the pawl 17 is pressed back from lthe ratchet y whilethc lever U lis in thelposition represented in black outline, and the' plunger can their be drawn lhrward entirely ont of the magazine lt by taking hold'ot' the rod S' with the iingers.

After vthe n'iagazine has been relilled by inil sertingthe bullets at the front end, thc plunger is inserted again, and-the feeding mechanism, consisting of the plunger S, rod S', slide T', dog T, link 14, and lever U, is then all read)r for operation.

If the gun is intended for a shot-gnu, the shot can be placed in cartridges, which may' be inserted in the magazine lt and fed therefrom after the powder to the chambers/"f of the cylinder in the same manncr'as the bullets, aszabovedescribed.

The lock used upon this lire-arm may be of ordinary construction.

Having now described the construction and the individual operations ofthe several parts of tirelire-arm, I will proceed to describe, as briefly as I can, the operations of loading and firing.

In loading, the arm should be held in an upright or nearly upright position, with the muzlVhile the lever M is in the for# ward position shown in Fig. 1 in black outline, the chamber j'opposite the powder-magaposition to close it. to the magazine and open -it to the chamber. .When this has been done the lever M -is drawn back to the position shown in red outline to'revolve the cylinder and bring the chamber which has been charged .with powder opposite to the liulletmagazine and bring another chamber opposite to the powder-magazine, after which the lever is -moved forward again to the position shown in Fig. 1 to bring thebarrel and magazines back 'close to the cylinder.

The chamber which has been charged with powder now has the bullet inserted in it by the movement of the lever U to operate the piston S, as before described, and the chamber now opposite the powdermagazine is Iliade to receive its charge of powder by turning the charger, as before dcscribed. Thel leverM is then moved backward again, and theA cylinder thus turned to bring the chamber, which has received both a charge of powder and a bullet opposite to and into line with t-hc barrel, and to bring the chamber which has only received the charge of powder opposite to the bnllet-1nagaziuc, and a third chamber opposite to the powder-magazine, after which the lcveris returned to its forward position and the chambers opposite the :magav,zines are respectively charged with powder and bullet, as before described. The arm is now in condition for irin g, and after each fire it is only necessary to movethe lever M once backward and forward to bring the next chamber which has been loaded with 'powder and ball to the posit-ion in line with the barrel in readiness for a repetition of the fire but if the iire is not desired to be `lrepeated immediately, I prefer, after revolving the cylinder, always to charge the chambers newly brought opposite the magazines with powder and ball. respectively, so as to salve time in ease a rapid repetition of fire may be subsequently desir able, and to have always one chamber loaded besides that one which is opposite to the barrel.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

k1. The powder-charger Q, applied in com' bina'tion with the rot-ating cylinder C and a magazine, P, substantially as herein specified.

2. The bullet-feeding mechanism, consisting of the plunger S, double ratchet-rod S',

slide T, dog T', link 14, and lever U, the whole combined and applied to the fire-arm, in combination with the maga-zine R, to operate substantially as herein specified.

`cylinder in its revolution and to detach the cylinder fromY the barrel in the longitudinal movement of thelatter, substantially as herein specified.

5. The elboW-lever-N, carrying the revolving dog n, and the cam L, applied in combina# tion with each other and with the cam L, by

which the longitudinal movement of the barf rel is produced, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

JAMES NICHOLS.

Witnesses RICHARDSON GAWLEY, J AMES LAIRD. 

